British Tamils in Southend-on-Sea and Liverpool held memorial events yesterday to mark 17 years since the Mullivaikkal Tamil genocide and remembered the tens of thousands of their friends and family massacred by the Sri Lankan state in May 2009.

In Southend-on-Sea, hundreds gathered at Shoebury East Beach for the third consecutive year, with organisers noting that attendance had continued to grow annually as families travelled from across Essex and surrounding areas to take part in the remembrance event.

A remembrance event was held in Mannar this morning to remember the Tamils that were massacred in Mullivaikkal in 2009. 

Flowers were laid for the victims of the Tamil genocide and Mullivaikkal Kanji was prepared and distributed. 

To mark 17 years since the Sri Lankan military onslaught that massacred tens of thousands of Tamils, we revisit the final days leading up to the 18th of May 2009 – a date remembered around the world as ‘Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day’. 

A commemorative event marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the 50th anniversary of the Vaddukoddai Resolution was held in Switzerland on 10 May under the theme “Unyielding Courage and Defiant Resurgence.”

The event, organised by the Swiss Tamil Coordinating Committee, took place in the canton of Bern and drew large numbers of Tamils from across Switzerland.

A community sports event organised by the Netherlands Tamil Women’s Organisation was held in Limburg, the Netherlands, on May 9 to commemorate the 38th remembrance of Annai Poopathy.

The programme brought together members of the Tamil community, including women, children and families from across the Netherlands, in an event that combined remembrance activities with indoor sporting competitions.

Tamils gathered in Maravanpulavu, Jaffna, today to eat Mullivaikkal Kanji to remember what victims and victim-survivors of the 2009 genocide endured.

Over 300,000 Tamils were trapped in the Sri Lankan government designated 'No Fire Zones' in the final months of the armed conflict and  were subjected to daily bombardment by Sri Lanka's military. The Sri Lankan government limited the entry of food and medicine into these zones. 

At the unveiling of the ‘Tamil Community Memorial’ in Sydney, Australia, Piraikumaran Perinparasa reflected on the courage and legacy of his father, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), paying tribute to his bravery and sacrifice.